ROME, Ga. – Georgia Tech men’s tennis suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 loss in a close contest to Virginia in the Quarterfinals of the 2021 ACC Championships at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga., on Friday evening. The No. 8 seed Yellow Jackets (13-9) were able to capture the doubles point and fight all the way through to a third set tiebreaker at position two in singles, but ultimately fell short to the No. 1 seed Cavaliers (19-2).
“Credit to UVA for fighting through a team that came after them hard,” said Byers Men’s Tennis Head Coach Kenny Thorne. “We did a good job in doubles again and got up early. We knew it would be a battle and it was. Some tough growing pains today but we absolutely competed like champions. I am so proud of this team. We will turn our attention to the NCAA tournament now.”
In doubles No. 50 Marcus McDaniel/Andres Martin snagged a top-10 ranked victory over No. 10 Carl Soderlund/William Woodall in a 7-6 (4) showing at position one to seal the doubles point. Prior to the upset on court one Keshav Chopra/Chen Dong nabbed a 6-2 win over Ryan Goetz/Inaki Montes. Both pairs of doubles duos won their two matches at ACC’s this post-season.
With a 1-0 advantage over the No. 6 ranked squad in the country the Jackets were able to pull out victories at positions six and three, courtesy of winning efforts by Pablo Schelcher and Dong. Schelcher held down court three with a 6-3, 7-5 outing against Montes, while Dong beat Woodall 6-4, 6-4 at court six.
The loss snaps a three game winning streak for the Jackets, and extends the Cavaliers streak to 13 straight. Virginia now holds a 39-11 lead all-time versus Tech.
Tennis Match Results Georgia Tech vs Virginia Apr 23, 2021 at Rome, Ga.
(Rome Tennis Center)
#6 Virginia 4, #31 Georgia Tech 3
Singles competition
1. #9 Carl Soderlund (VA) def. #20 Marcus McDaniel (M-GT) 6-4, 6-0
2. #44 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. #38 Andres Martin (M-GT) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Pablo Schelcher (M-GT) def. Inaki Montes (VA) 6-3, 7-5
4. Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Keshav Chopra (M-GT) 7-5, 6-4
5. Gianni Ross (VA) def. Brandon McKinney (M-GT) 6-2, 6-1
6. Chen Dong (M-GT) def. William Woodall (VA) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #50 Marcus McDaniel/Andres Martin (M-GT) def. #10 Carl Soderlund/William Woodall (VA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. J vd Schulenburg/Gianni Ross (VA) def. Brandon Freestone/Pablo Schelcher (M-GT) 6-4
3. Chen Dong/Keshav Chopra (M-GT) def. Ryan Goetz/Inaki Montes (VA) 6-2
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 13-9; National ranking #31
Virginia 19-2; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,1,6,3,4,2) Played Outdoors
Virginia wins
T-3:20
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